Gobs of glass are molten and emit light. In this state, the glass gobs are rapidly sent through assemblies used to position and form the glass gobs into a desired article. If the speed with which the glass gobs travel through the assembly line are estimated incorrectly, inaccuracies in the forming of the articles desired, and quite possibly the waste of raw materials, may occur. Therefore, a general object of the present disclosure is to provide an apparatus for measuring the speed of molten glass gobs travelling along the glassware forming system.
An apparatus for measuring speed of a molten glass gob travelling along a defined path includes an optical detector. A mask having at least two openings through which light passes to the optical detector is disposed adjacent the optical detector. A lens receives light front the moving glass gob and focuses such light through the openings of the mask. Electronics are coupled to the optical detectors for determining the speed of the molten glass gob as a function of timing of light sensed at the optical detectors. In illustrative embodiments of the disclosure, the optical detector is disposed within the image plane of the lens and comprise different portions of a single light sensing device.